1. Field of Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to digital media and, more specifically, to detecting faults in streaming media.
2. Description of Related Art
Digital content distribution systems conventionally include a content server, a content player, and a communications network connecting the content server to the content player. The content server is configured to store digital content files, which can be downloaded from the content server to the content player. Each digital content file corresponds to a specific portion of an identifying title, such as “Gone with the Wind,” which is familiar to a user. The digital content file typically includes sequential content data, organized according to playback chronology, and may comprise audio data, video data, or a combination thereof.
The content player is configured to download and play a digital content file, in response to a user request selecting the title for playback. The process of playing the digital content file includes decoding and rendering audio and video data into an audio signal and a video signal, which may drive a display system having a speaker subsystem and a video subsystem. Playback typically involves a technique known in the art as “streaming,” whereby the content server sequentially transmits the digital content file to the content player and the content player plays the digital content file while content data is received that comprises the digital content file.
Many content servers maintain a substantial number of digital content files and frequently add new digital content files to their collection. As the number of content files grows, it often becomes infeasible for quality assurance personnel to individually test each and every content file hosted by the content server. Additionally, the task of verifying each content file becomes more difficult in environments where users may use a wide variety of different clients and equipment to stream content files. In such an environment, particular digital content files may only experience problems on select client applications and/or types of equipment. Moreover, many content servers will maintain multiple encodings for a single title for use in accommodating various clients. For instance, the title “Gone with the Wind” could be encoded in a higher resolution for use with high bandwidth client devices and could be separately encoded in a lower resolution for use with lower bandwidth client devices. As such, it often is impractical for quality assurance personnel to attempt to manually verify each of the different encodings for each content file on each and every combination of client application and client equipment.